Planetary Classifications
Second Era Classifications There are two main ways that planets in the realms are classified. The first is based both on distance from Earth and economic strength, while the second is based on a planet's use of technology and magic. The massive changes that occurred during and after the Terminus War, led to many of these classifications becoming inaccurate, so this record has been split into two sections. Economic Strength Colonization of the galaxy started from Earth, and as such, the distance from Earth to a planet generally represents how long that planet has been settled for. The planets closest to Earth have had to most time to develop strong and advanced economies, while those farther away are often still in developmental stages. It's important to note, that while newly settled worlds would quickly develop, the core worlds never really stagnated, which led to them being consistently more advanced than the further out worlds. Central Worlds The term central worlds refers to both the core worlds and the midworlds and in mainly used when discussing the Terminus War. Core Worlds The core worlds are the planets that were settled in the early days of colonization. They are almost always very wealth and have much higher standards of living than other worlds. The core was the center of culture, science, politics, and trade in the realms during the Second Era. When the core worlds were settled, magic was still in its very early days and could not be relied upon for most complicated tasks. This led to most of the core worlds being techworlds during the Second Era. Midworlds The midworlds are the worlds that are young enough to not be considered part of the core, but are developed enough to not fit in with the fringe worlds. Most of the midworlds were settled after the First Formation. Magic had become much more prevalent by the time the midworlds were being colonized and became much more ingrained in these worlds' cultures. Most midworlds used magic in their societies in significant ways, but only a small percent were considered full magic worlds. Fringe Worlds The fringe worlds are the worlds settled far from the core. The main distinction between them and the midworlds is the devastation they faced during the Tálar. Even though many of these far out worlds were only just starting to develop, many more of them had caught up with the midworlds economically. Unfortunately, the devastation caused by the Tálar brought many of the worlds back to the stone age. Having been saved from complete destruction by magic, most of the fringe worlds turned to magic when rebuilding their societies. Over time, the large differences in culture between the fringe worlds and the rest of the realms caused them to divide diplomatically. Trade between the fringe and the rest of the realms would be rare for much of the Second Era. Often, fringe world societies more closely resembled the government systems of ancient Earth rather than those of other worlds. Magic Use Techworlds Techworlds rely primarily on technology in their societies. Most of the core worlds and many of the midworlds are techworlds. Most robots, sentient or otherwise, were created on and lived on techworlds. Magic Worlds Magic worlds use magic in place of technology whenever they can. Enchantments are used in place of technology. While the rates of people born with magical powers are similar to other worlds, they often have an easier time gaining strength. In addition, many more people on these worlds study to learn magic. Glitterworlds There are only seven glitterworlds that are known to have existed, making them the rarest type of world by far. While many worlds used both magic and technology to some extent, glitterworlds were unique in that they fully utilized both. Glitterworld tech included both magic and standard science and engineering. Microprocessors would be used to control complected enchantments and magic would be used when building complex machines, among many other examples. While most worlds would have gladly bought and used glitterworld tech, all seven of them hoarded the secrets behind their technology. Third Era Classifications At the end of the Terminus War, the conditions of the worlds of the realms were much more diverse, although generally not in good ways. In addition, the structure of Core, Mid, and Fringe worlds had entirely broken down. Therefore, new ways of classifying worlds had to be created. Magic and Tech Use Besides a very small number of dead worlds, every planet in the realms during the Third Era had very limited, if any, access to technology. High Magic High Magic Worlds are the closest to the Techworlds of the Second Era. Magic users are common and enchantments of varying complexity are used where technology would have been used. Most of the Fringe worlds became High Magic worlds in the years following the Terminus War. Low Magic Dead Worlds Dead Worlds are worlds that during the Terminus War, made the decision to destroy of of the Conduit Nodes on their planet. Due to the immense damage that this would cause to even the most tech heavy world, only a few, most notable Earth, took this path. Dead Worlds have no magic whatsoever and as such are free from the control of the gods. However, the lack of FTL travel keeps them isolated within their system. While most Dead World societies had almost fully fallen apart even before their Conduit Nodes were destroyed, a few manged to hold onto some level of technology. Habitability The Terminus War lasted for over 200 years, with weapons of great destruction being used frequently. This led to many worlds becoming less habitable or even fully uninhabitable. Light Worlds Light Worlds are worlds that either remained mostly untouched or fully recovered after the Terminus War. Dim Worlds World's that suffered massive amounts of damage to their ecology, but are still habitable to a much smaller extent. Dark Worlds Dark worlds are worlds that sustained enough damaged to their environments that they are significantly less habitable than they were before the Terminus War. While many worlds were Dark Worlds by the end of the war, most would eventually recover during the many years of the Third Era. Toxic Worlds Toxic Worlds are worlds that were rendered uninhabitable during the Terminus War.